Reviews tagging 'Racial slurs'

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

48 reviews

frmeden's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

"In the infinite run it does not matter a jot that a North American girl child named Dolores Haze had been deprived of her childhood by a maniac, unless this can be proven."

it is so hard to put into words the way this novel affected me, other than we've done a great disservice to it by peddling it as a 'love story' for all these years. nabokov can say this story has no moral but the authorial intent reads very clear to me! i do almost feel like i could go back and read it again and catch new things because it kind of reads like a very overwritten horror/mystery novel, because HH is lying to you constantly and covering up his crimes with flowery prose. dolores haze you deserved better, who the fuck is "lolita" anyway!!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Trafficking, Stalking, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

Minor: Child death

kazli's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

god this book was heartbreaking. it follows a man named humbert humbert who falls in love with his step daughter, and you know it's wrong but because humbert is an unreliable narrator he makes you believe that he is actually in love with his 'lolita' when in reality she is just a child who wanted a normal life and a normal family.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment

g1lg4mesh's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I find myself in a pickle of sorts in reviewing this book- I cannot in good faith blindly recommend it, and yet it is simultaneously the most incredible text I have ever engaged with. Lolita simply redefines the standard of the masterpiece, building not a glass ceiling (such tangibilities are beneath it), rather, casting the colloquial “bar” to the very heavens, where it may never be seen again. Only read this book if you are prepared to finish it- know too that this is no simple matter- but read this book, if you may be so bold. It will challenge you, and you may want to hurl it into a fire at times, but still, you simply must make it to that final page. This is a book that redefines the 5th star, and shakes any attempt at literary tier lists to its very core.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Kidnapping, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

shayh's review against another edition

dark emotional tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship

Moderate: Death, Incest, Racial slurs, Racism, Toxic relationship, and Death of parent

Minor: Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Vomit, Murder, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

badyah's review against another edition

challenging dark slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, and Murder

Moderate: Racial slurs

joaura's review against another edition

challenging dark tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

Did not finish. Stopped reading at 63%.
 
Reading this book was not only higly triggering and disturbing, but felt so pointless in trying to analyse it on a higher level.

I read a plot summary for the last third I had left and I'm glad I did that instead of pushing through the remaining pages of this novel.

I understand why it's a classic.
But!
I don't understand how it's described to be dangerously decieving the reader into sympathizing with Humbert.

~

I don't want to add anything to my initial review explaining why I didn't finish this novel, even though I managed to read the remaining pages after cooling down a bit.

This book was a tough read, expecially for me as a survivor myself.
Please be careful reading this piece of work if you've had experiences regarding child sexual abuse yourself.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Cursing, Death, Fatphobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Medical content, Kidnapping, Death of parent, and Murder

Minor: Cancer, Chronic illness, Car accident, and Pregnancy

manybees's review against another edition

dark emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

Despite its reputation I found it more sad than disturbing. Dolly Haze is probably one of my favourite characters in all of literature. I’m gonna be thinking about this one for a while.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Incest, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Alcoholism, Confinement, Death, Miscarriage, Medical content, Grief, Pregnancy, and Classism

Minor: Biphobia, Body shaming, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Suicidal thoughts

There is only one abuse scene that could be considered sexually explicit and it is written in such an abstracted and poetic way that it’s almost kinda hard to tell what’s going on. There is also period-typical racism and racial slurs.

sorryiateyourbooks's review against another edition

dark reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, and Rape

Minor: Racial slurs, Racism, and War

kelisabeth's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

It feels wrong to rate this high, though it was incredibly well written

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

another_dahlia's review against another edition

dark reflective slow-paced

• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Alcoholism, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, and Alcohol

Minor: Car accident